FL Orlando Radisson Resort Parkway Kissimmee

[Autumn96]

My daughter and I stayed here from June 21st to June 29th.

We were coming from the Animal Kingdom Lodge and expected a let down, so we were prepared. There wasn't much need to be.

We found the hotel with little problem and didn't expect the size of it. It was a lot bigger than I had thought it would be. Our car was met immediately at the front entrance by the bellman asking if we were checking in (and there were other cars there also so the prompt service was nice). No Valet parking ... would have been handy for at least one night I could think of. We left our bags to the bellman and went to check in.

Check in was pretty quick. I did try asking for an upgrade, but was told there were only pool views for $10 extra per night... no thanks. I actually don't like pool views because with balconies or sometimes even through closed windows, it can be pretty noisy at night. There were no balconies at this hotel, which I didn't realize at the time. I thought the website showed them.

I checked to be sure that the room prices were correct. I had some problems with booking online which I detailed below.

We drove to where the parking was closest to our room, around the back of the hotel. I guess technically we had a parking lot view... but we also had a very nice view of a pond with a fountain. Very pretty.

The bellman had beaten us to our room. He was very friendly and happy to share any tips for the area or Hotel information.

The room was a nice size. 2 full sized beds. Upholstered chair, table with 2 chairs. A very LARGE round mirror on the wall facing one of the beds...lol. Mini-bar... not for personal use so I rented a refrigerator for $5.35 a night. From the time I called to order it, to the time it got to my room was about 15 minutes! Plenty of room for it too. The bathroom was a nice size and marble, but the door was.... wrong? You needed to step inside the bathroom on one side of the toilet to close the door to get to the tub. I didn't like that the door covered the tub when opened because when my daughter bathes I like the door open. It wasn't a small bathroom, but that door was awkward. Very nice simple decor overall. All looked new and updated.

Kids eat free at the Radisson, but we only ate there once for the breakfast buffet. It was good, but not outstanding. A nice touch is that they make omlettes to order right in front of you while you wait. I didn't have an omlette though. The food was good enough, hard to ruin a breakfast, but the croisants could have been sara lee. Not very good. A bit pricey for a breakfast buffet, $11.99, but considering my daughter was free it was a good deal (the Holdiday Inn Nikki Bird's buffet is much larger and only $6.99, and kids eat free. No made to order omlettes though:) ). Be careful with tipping at the Radisson. They do add 15% on to the check already and have another spot for an extra tip.

They have a VERY pricey counter service. Water was more expensive than at WDW. Pizza hut counter, and Starbucks machine. Handy if you forgot something... but save a bundle and go to Winn Dixie when visiting downtown Disney.

They have a "service" counter in the lobby where I was told to go for directions (to the outlets).... the woman told me I could get very cheap theme park tickets. I told her I have annual passes and she said I could get $50 back. I smiled and said not interested. At least it wasn't much pressure, but I was firm so maybe that's why she didn't even try. I was very surprised to find a desk for soliciting time share in the Radisson lobby.

The pool area is really beautiful. A large free form pool with a slide and waterfalls. This is the main pool. The bad part is it's not heated. My daughter enjoyed herself.. but I couldn't get used to the water and stayed poolside. They could use more seating.. and twice while we were at the pool they ran out of towels.

Walking around the main pool to the smaller, supposedly heated pool (still too cold) is a very nice walk. Waterfalls falling into small pools of water... beautiful rock formations (I think real.. though not sure), and a jacuzzi with a waterfall. The jacuzzi was too hot! Unlike Goldilocks I was unable to find a water spot that was just right. But my daughter swam around like a fish with no complaints. I'm a wuss.

Let me say that the Radisson is on RT 192... but you'd never know it. It's set back and the grounds are beautiful! That pond we have a view of has some very large fish (don't know what kind) and some turtles that my daughter would feed from the bridge that goes over it. There were other ponds surrounding the Hotel too.

The first morning, I woke sneezing.. a lot! I have allergies to mold and mildew. When we opened the door to the hallway, there was a very strong smell of mildew. I don't know why I hadn't noticed it before... maybe because it had rained hard during the evening it became more noticeable. We were on the top floor and while walking through the hotel noticed that the sections not on the top floor had no ordor. I went down to the front desk and told them of the problem. The woman asked if I wanted to have someone go up and 'check'. What that meant I didn't know. I said you can if you like, but I want my room changed to one not on the top floor. I was given a room on the second floor of building 5000. There were two floors above us and no smell whatsoever. I did remain a bit sneezy on and off our whole time there though. It was bareable as I have to bear it some times anyway.

I mentioned the problem to the peson who moved our refrigerator for us and he said, yeah... I don't blame you. Others had complained too. I hope they get rid of that problem because the hotel is really pretty nice otherwise. I didn't have the sneezing problem at all at the Nikki Bird Holiday Inn nor at the Animal Kingdom lodge.

Housekeeping was good. Plenty of towels. They make your bed when you leave the sign on it to do it. They didn't vacuum daily though. There were some little things that were still there when we returned at the end of the day. My daughter did get sand on the carpet and I'm glad to say that night when we returned it was vacuumed up. Average service, but no complaints.

Room service was prompt and the food was hot (important to me). The pizza hut was the same price as the take out counter downstairs(plus tip).. that was nice. The other menu items were only slightly higher than the restuarant it seemed.

They had a workout room that was well lit with new equipment. Nice size too.

Parking was a problem if you came back late. I had to park very far away one night at midnight.. with my very sleepy cranky daughter.. in the rain. Otherwise you can park pretty close to your room as the lots went around the hotel on 3 sides.

My overall impression of the Hotel is that it's a very pretty setting with an exceptionally pretty pool layout (if you're not picky like me and want bath water). The rooms are spacious and very nice. Beds are comfy. Bathrooms very nice. I think it's a reasonable price at the 87 & 97 a night.. I got a great deal at the prices I paid with the price guarantee. I would visit this hotel again asking for a room not on a top floor. I did find that the desk clerks ( the 3 in all I talked with) weren't overly friendly at all. Not checking in, not when I wanted a room change, and again when I was confirming my goldpoints number. They never smiled, though they were polite enough. The housekeeping were also less than friendly. I would smile and say hello, and they would barely respond... no smiling. And yes I did tip daily! All the other service people were very nice and were friendly.

I think this is rated as a 3*? It definately makes that rating, could even be a *3.5.

Here was my price guarantee problem:

Radisson has a price guarantee of 25% off the lowest rate found. I emailed it in and got a confirmation of the lower rate, but no % off. I called and was told that was the price I booked on their site! Not so... good thing I took a page shot of the reservation. Radisson site prices were 107-3 nights & 117-5 nights, the other site was 87 & 97. They told me to email the page shot to them... and I waited for a response... and didn't get one. I called back.. noone knew what anyone was doing... Now I had not 1, but 3 reservations! and they were all at the lower rate without the 25% off.

I called the corperate office and was put in contact with a wonderful rep named Mary. She contacted the hotel (after looking at my reservation she also saw 3 bookings!), and said the person in charge there said my "match" was for one of their own websites and it didn't count. I told her that it was not their website and Hotels.com also had a lower price which she verified (she agreed that the original site didn't seem like their website either). She told me not to worry she would get it straightened out in the morning with the manager and my prices would be correct.

I was leaving the next morning on the 14th, but wouldn't be to the Radisson till the 21st. And as promised she called me as I got to the airport. She said the manager had been off since early afternoon the previous day and didn't know of my problem. He changed my prices to reflect the 25% off, and cancelled my extra rooms (whew). She was a wonderful help! I plan on emailing Radisson to compliment how friendly and helpful she was.

Anyway.. final prices for the room were $65.25 & $72.75 . I have yet to receive my goldpoints for the booking (and 1,000 point bonus for booking online). I thought I'd give it some time to show up. Does anyone know how long it usually takes?